The SECURE Act’s 10 Year Rule (Part 2)
In last week’s post, I wrote about the SECURE Act, specifically the change that for most beneficiaries does away with the ability to stretch out the time period by which funds must be withdrawn from these accounts. This change will affect most children who inherit retirement accounts from their parents. Being 25
Voice Cloning Scam – Part 1
I most recently wrote about financial scams in this blog back in October but a recent story on the tv news caught my eye. I wanted to share it here as another example of the “dark side” of technology to which seniors especially can be susceptible. It involves voice cloning. Advances
Proposed Financial Elder Abuse Legislation – Part 3
The subject of my last two posts has been a proposed piece of legislation introduced by 2 New Jersey legislators in response to a couple of cases reported upon in the media in which seniors were moved into long term care facilities and their asset taken from them by individuals
Financial Elder Abuse Legislation – Part 2
In my post last week, I wrote about a type of financial fraud targeting the elderly that caught the attention of two New Jersey legislators. In two cases that were reported upon by the media, a man working with a nursing home convinced 2 seniors to sign powers of attorney appointing
Fraud Prevention – Part 2
In last week’s post I wrote about the increasing number of our senior clients falling victim to online financial scams. Once money has left your account the chances of recovering it are remote. So, the best defense is to prevent it from happening in the first place. As I stated last week, there
Fraud Prevention – Part 1
As internet use and online business have increased, so has online financial theft and fraud. Seniors are especially susceptible for a number of reasons. For one thing, criminals go where the money is. Much of the country’s wealth is held by the older population. Secondly, as we age, our cognitive skills are not what
Happily Married or Something Else? Part 2
In last week’s post I went back to the topic of Medicaid and more specifically how the need for long term care might affect both spouses. The assets of both spouses are counted for eligibility purposes even if only one spouse is applying for benefits. I always remind people that a second
Longtime Partners but Never Married (Part 5)
In last week’s post about Bill and Mary, I told you that we applied for a guardian to be appointed for each of them. The court approved their neighbor and friend, Nancy. Bill had sufficient assets to pay for his care for at least several years. Mary did not. By the time we were
Long Time Partners but Never Married
A recent call we received started with an increasingly common problem. Mary had called because her partner, Bill had a stroke which landed him in the hospital. He failed to make enough progress to be able to go home and would need to stay in a long term care facility. Mary told me
Binding Arbitration and Admissions Agreements
We frequently review long term care facility agreements for our clients. We want to be sure they understand what is contained in these agreements which can be 30 pages or more with multiple attachments and exhibits. It is a legally binding contract that contains rights and responsibilities for each party but the